You've probably woken up at least once, but you can't move or speak? That creepy feeling is actually sleep paralysis, and here's what you need to know about it.
"Sleep paralysis is a temporary inability to speak or move the body during the period when you are just waking up or falling asleep," explains neurologist Christopher Winter.
He adds that this condition is quite common. "It happens to many people every night, only some of them are not aware of it".
Namely, when we sleep, the brain sends a signal to the spine that tells the body not to move. This is why you may dream of drowning, for example, and wake up in bed with "intact" sheets, you haven't even moved.
However, sometimes the brain becomes active (that is, we become conscious) while the body is still feeling the effects of REM paralysis, resulting in that eerie feeling of powerlessness, the inability to move our own body or say anything.
Neurologist Dr Winter says it's quite normal and most people experience sleep paralysis at least once in their lives.
"Most often it happens when you are under stress, you travel a lot or your daily schedule suddenly changes," says this expert.
Jennifer Hite, professor of medicine at Columbia University, says that sleep paralysis is "terrifying", and adds that many people think that at that moment there is someone else in the room or that it is a question of a supernatural force that does not allow them to move.
"People often describe feeling chest tightness, choking, gasping for air during sleep paralysis," Hite says. Dr. Winter explains that this is because the muscles that "open" the chest to allow air to pass through can also be temporarily paralyzed.
Fortunately, there are some preventative steps that can prevent sleep paralysis from occurring. Winter advises getting about eight hours of sleep a night and finding a way to relax when you're stressed.
Also, if you often have sleep paralysis and are sleepier than usual during the day, this may be a sign of narcolepsy. This condition is characterized by daytime sleepiness, and people suffering from narcolepsy tend to fall asleep suddenly, regardless of the time of day or where they are.
"If you feel good, have energy and it happens once, everything is fine. If it happens again, you should talk to your doctor, so that a solution can be found," says Dr. Winter.
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